Orange Lake ResortRental Guest Reviews

Great family resort

We stay here 3 to 4 times a year and wouldn't go anywhere else. For the location, amenities for the kids and overall value for your buck, this is hands down the best resort in Orlando.

Wonderful Family Spring Vacation

At the end of a very looooong winter in New England, we were so looking forward to a warm vacation at River Island at Orange Lake in Kissimmee, Fla, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, and, as usual, they did not disappoint. We were thrilled to find the units at River Island have been updated since last year. The colors are warm, inviting and a little on the elegant side. The furniture is comfortable and fresh. We checked in much later than usual so the lines were almost non existent. However, checking in late means you miss a day at the pool. Won't happen again! Staff as usual were pleasant and accommodating. The cleanliness of the pool areas has improved a great deal since last year. We bought a play pass for the week and it was worth it with 2 children. They used the Putt-Putt, Arcade, and Hippo Slide several times during the week and we used the tubes for the lazy river every day except one. I really do not have one single concern or complaint this year. We had a wonderful time and will be back again next year.

It pains me...

I have stayed at this resort since I was a kid. Seriously, I think I have stayed there 35+ times and this is the first time Im going to have something bad to say. We booked 2 "flat" villas - these are the one story's and even though we were called to say the rooms were ready we arrived to find that housekeeping was no where near done. We sat outside for over 45min after check-in before I just started putting stuff in there. The floors were sticky and they left towels and broken glass (which we later found out was the coffee pot) on the floor. Our friends 2 year old complained of pain in her foot which my wife (a registered ER nurse) found to be glass in her foot. I would say that this maybe was just a one time bad experience but both rooms were the same (only one broken coffee pot though). On checkout day though the maids were not running behind. By 9:30 they were knocking! Again I have never had a problem here in ALL my visits but this was the first time we thought "Maybe we'll try somewhere else next time."

Inconvenient Knocks & disorganization

I called Priority Club to set my reservation up due to 2 part reservation with a couple days being paid and a couple of days being reward nights. I specifically asked the agent to link the reservations and she put me on hold while she called the resort to make them aware of my situation. We wanted to ensure that i would not have to move rooms or have housekeeping think we were squatting in our room after we were supposed to check out. At check it we were welcomed cheerfully and it was easy and fast to get situated. I asked her at check in to make the keys to last for my entire stay instead of the two days then the 4 paid days. She assured me that i was in the same room for both the reward / paid nights. Needless to say, on the day we transitioned from reward night to paid night - 8:30 am .. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. we get woken up. Its housekeeping asking when they can get in to clean. I tried to explain through the door but we still got a follow up knock on the door by what seemed to be the housekeeping area manager to ask when we were leaving. I called the front desk and It seemed to be resolved. The last day of my stay I called the front desk to ask about a late check out (supposed to be guaranteed by my platinum status per this website) just until 12/1230. I was told that it is not possible. (since our stay IHG changed their language from "guaranteed" to "extended" check-out). I ask very nicely if she could accommodate me while making it known to her that I have been a very loyal customer for years (platinum 8+ years). She offered my a 30 min window and my wife and i needed at least an hour. Needless to say we rushed out of the room and couldn't get our stuff together in. It was a complete mess. It seemed to me that even though i asked priority club and the front desk at check to make sure the transition was seamless; the staff couldn't follow simple instructions and make that happen. If you want repeat business from loyal customers you try and accommodate their needs instead of fighting to get them out of the room.

Fun for the kids

We recently stayed at your facilities for several days. The grounds were beautiful and there were activities galore for the kids. Our room was in need of an update and looked as though everything was quite woren. Carpets very dirty to the point that nothing was sat on the floor. I did take everything from the cabinet and wash it prior to use. We were totally turned off by the immediate sales pitch for time share. Before we were given access to our room! Confusion was the word of the hour during registration......then the phone calls persisted following our rejection of participating in the "presentation". It was apparent that staff must be rewarded for their success in getting visitors to participate! We had come to your facility for a get away and rest. Once we were left alone the visit was comfortable. However, your staff was very pleasant. If we called for any assistance; leaking kitchen sink or clean towels they were quick to respond. I would refer others to the resort but give the warning of the pressured sales pitch first!

Overall comments

On-site restaurants were not as satisfying as they have been in years past. Quality and service have declined. Accommodations are very good however we noticed some maintenance issues such as a dryer needed to be replaced and quickly was replaced, refrigerator ice maker did not work, water was leaking from somewhere in the refrigerator, rust stains in a bathroom sink. Noticeable problems but none impacted the great time we had at Orange Lake. All staff were friendly and helpful.

great location and space

This is my third time coming to this resort and third time is not the charm. Toilet paper was so thin. Towels were not too clean. I reserved three rooms. One room had a broken toilet seat on the counter and was not ready for us, but she hurried to finish up. Took 4hours to get the toilet seat back on One of the rooms the fridge was leaking water. The other the key cards were not working and had to wait outside the door with a four month old at 10;30 at night for 20 mins.

Love love love this resort! But.........

Let me start by saying that the resort itself and the amenities they have are outstanding! It is gorgeous and well maintained. Sure to some it may seem pricey, but remember you are paying for convenience and resort prices. My one and only complaint of the resort is the VERY high pressure sales tactics. They do not get that my first "No, thank you. I'm not interested at this time." ,should be my last as well. If I'm interested *I* will come to you. It gets really annoying fast when you politely try to leave to go and enjoy the resort and they continue trying to pressure you. Lets try to teach the staff that a no is a no. :) It's a much more professional and polite business practice.

Can't wait to return!

This place was great and is better than the pictures show. The two main pools are huge and I was able to find a private place amongst all the people and kids with ease. Our accommodations were similar to a one story apartment; full kitchen, private bedroom and living area has a decent sleeper sofa. Kitchen comes with all devices stocked and we had a dishwasher and washer- dryer too. Some of the patios had a BBQ grill but ours did not-something I'll request next time. The property seems to go on and on, including both sides of the tollway, from which you cannot hear the vehicles on it. There's lots of restaurants on property and at least ten chain restaurants right outside one of the entrances, along with two grocery stores. You do have to pass a lot of tourist traps if you're coming from I-4 but you will be pleasantly surprised when entering the property, which is gated and secured. I felt very safe here. The only cons I have is some of the on site burger joints at the pools had staff that were less than happy about their jobs. This was not the case at the bars and real restaraunts though; they were very friendly. I'm not a fan of fixed gratuity, which is 18% here, but I understand it. I would prefer to adjust up or down at my discretion. The other issue mentioned by others is the lack of housekeeping. Our pullout was supposed to have all the bedding in the closet but only had two pillows (an oversight by housekeeping as it turned out) but I didn't feel like waiting for them to bring it at midnight so we made do without one night. TV channel selection was weak too; no premium channels at all; it almost seemed like they are trying not to offend anybody in any way so it's not offered (if you travel around central Florida and see the billboards, you know what I'm talking about). Surprisingly, for a time share property, we were never approached at all for the usual dog and pony show; not any mention at all. Overall I loved the concept of this place and cannot wait to return!

Nicer then a home away from home

We just loved this resort. Everything was wonderful, better then we thought it would be. We will be coming back for a longer stay. Four days was just not long enough......